Leadership evident as Lady ‘Riders roll

Monday

Nov 19, 2012 at 12:01 AMNov 19, 2012 at 11:40 PM

The Crowder Lady ‘Riders led by as many as 30 points in the second half of last Saturday’s game against Northern Oklahoma, but slowed down late in the game and allowed the Lady Mavericks to narrow the gap. They weren’t about to let that happen again on Monday.

Levi Payton

The Crowder Lady ‘Riders led by as many as 30 points in the second half of last Saturday’s game against Northern Oklahoma, but slowed down late in the game and allowed the Lady Mavericks to narrow the gap. They weren’t about to let that happen again on Monday.

After taking a 37 point lead into the half, the Lady ‘Riders kept their foot on the gas and pulled away with a 99-51 win over Oklahoma Wesleyan’s junior varsity.

This one was never in doubt. Crowder stormed out on a 13-0 run to begin the game, and after a dominant showing on both ends of the floor, led 56-19 by halftime. To make sure they remained focused, at halftime the Lady ‘Riders wrote out some goals they wanted to accomplish going forward. It worked.

“It was a good win,” Crowder coach Tina Robbins said. “I thought our kids played hard. I thought they did a pretty good job the second half of keeping their focus even though we had a big lead at halftime.”

Everyone got into the mix for the Lady ‘Riders. Of the 11 players who played in the game, 10 of them scored points. The team was led by Sarah Sagely with 17 points to lead all scorers. She hit four treys on the night while adding six rebounds and four blocks.

Caprese Marshall also had a solid performance for Crowder as she finished with 16 points and five rebounds. Terai Sadler turned in 15 points, including 13 in the first half, led the team with 11 boards while chipping in four assists and four steals. Seleena Neal turned in 12 points.

“We go in at halftime and they already had some goals written on the board with what they wanted to achieve in the second half, and we talked about some of those same things. Our leaders, our sophomores, they realized that it’s not just about this game, but what we’re trying to do the rest of the season and on into the postseason. They’re very focused.”

Focused, indeed. The victory moved the Lady ‘Riders to 8-1 overall. Their only loss came in a 69-66 home loss against Seminole State, a team they’ll face on Thursday in the second game of a two-game road series. Crowder begins the road trip at Pratt College in Pratt, Kan., at 6 p.m. Tuesday, before heading to Seminole, Okla. at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Leadership has played a key role in Crowder’s early success. As Robbins pointed out, the players seem to be on the same page and that, she says, is a great sign going forward.

“Late in the second half when we were giving up offensive rebounds and we gave up some three’s, I didn’t have to say anything (to the team), because the one’s on the bench were yelling at them. That’s just good leadership from our sophomores.

“Of course, I’m going to get on them when they’re doing things wrong, but when you’ve got your sophomore leaders that, you know, they set the example every day in practice with how hard they work. Everybody listens to them and what they say. They’re very highly motivated. It makes my job easier.”